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Mary Tyler Moore (2016 film)
Mary Tyle Mooore (or as it's also known The Mary Tyler Moore Movie) is a 2015 American comedy film based on the television series of the same name. The film was directed by Jay Chandrasekhar and released on November 13, 2005 by 20th Century Fox. As in the television series, Mary Tyler Moore depicts the comic mis-adventures of recently divorced Mary Richards who is hired as Associate Producer of WJM-TV's Six O'Clock News in New York city. Where as the original series was a testament to female empowerment, and a beloved sitcom which had made TV history, the movie was highly criticized for sexualizing a number of the female characters, altering its tone (compared to the sitcom) and changing characters from the source material. Critics savaged the film upon release and the original stars released statements against the movie. It was considered a box-office failure and plans for a franchise was summarily canceled. Plot Mary Richards (Lohan), with her sincere, kind demeanor, is often taken advantage of by family and friends. The night of her 30th birthday party, Mary (and her guests) catch her husband sleeping with her best friend. Humiliated, she divorces him and then Mary moves from her native Minnesota to New York. With the help of her father, Mary is hired as the new Associate Producer for WJM-TV's Six O'Clock News. There she meets Lou Grant (Sheen), her Producer and boss. Murray Slaughter (Roberts), the head writer and Ted Baxter (Marsden), the handsome, but extremely dim-witted anchorman for the Six O'Clock News. Staying at a hotel, a miscommunication makes Baxter think Mary has invited him to her suite and he catches her unaware in the shower, even going so far as to join the shocked woman. They later promise to forget the incident ever occurred. Later Mary is befriended by Rhoda Morgenstern (Caplan), an oversexed lesbian who helps Mary move into a rent controlled apartment on the floor below her own. Rhoda takes Mary for a night on the town, and after Mary gets drunk, Rhoda holds back her impulses and helps her home. Though she later teases Mary with the knowledge that Rhoda changed Mary into her night clothes while she was passed out. The next morning a hungover Mary meets Sue Ann Nivens (Biel), host of WJM's The Happy Homemaker show. While her demeanor is superficially cheerful, she makes judgmental comments about Mary, exchanges personal insults with Murray, and tries to regale everyone about her many sexual trysts. Most of those remarks are aimed at Lou, to whom she is strongly attracted. Sue Ann hates Mary at first sight and while sharing her bed with Baxter later that night, vows to destroy her. Feeling dejected by her new life, Mary turns to Phyllis Lindstrom (Harring), Mary's snobbish cousin for comfort. Phyllis is married to the unseen Lars Lindstrom, a dermatologist, and has a promiscuous teenage daughter, Bess. Phyllis is controlling and often arrogant. She is actively involved in groups and clubs and is a political activist and a supporter of Women's Liberation. Her influence carries much weight around the city, and she uses that to her advantage by forcing Mary to kill a story about her husband's infidelities and her daughter's arrest for drug possession. As her work continues, Mary is forced to deal with Sue Ann's continuing attempts to recruit Baxter to help ruin Mary's image, first by getting him to try and seduce her which fails. Sabotaging her work efforts in front of Lou's eyes backfires. Finally Sue Ann posts fake nude photos of Mary on the station's website. Infuriated Mary recruits Rhoda to drug Sue Ann and pose nude with her in bed to ruin Sue Ann's wholesome image. The result of these actions causes the President of the Network to suspend both women and fire Lou for not being able to control his staff. Mary opts to give up her job, rather than fight for it. Despite the attempts by Rhoda and Phyllis to convince her otherwise. Lou, comes to visit Mary at her apartment, and his tough and grumpy demeanor is dropped to reveal his kind-hearted nature. Lou reveals that he has fallen in love with Mary and he convinces her to fight for her job. With the help of Murray and Baxter (who turns on Sue Ann), Mary's job is saved. Lou is reinstated and Sue Ann is fired and her career ruined by the ensuing scandal. Rhoda and Phyllis are later caught by Mary in bed, and Phyllis admits to having "switched sides" and finally Mary and Lou elope at the end of the film, where she admits that she's finally happy. Cast * Lindsey Lohan as Mary Richards :A single woman and Minnesotan, who moves to New York at age 30 and becomes Associate Producer of WJM-TV's Six O'Clock News. Her sincere, kind demeanor often acts as a foil for the personalities of her co-workers and friends. * Michael Sheen as Lou Grant : Producer of the news. His tough and grumpy demeanor initially hides his kind-hearted nature which is gradually revealed as the story progresses. He is referred to as "Lou" by everyone, including Mary's friends, with the exception of Mary herself, who can rarely bring herself to call him by his first name rather than "Mr. Grant". He ends up falling in love with Mary and they elope by the end of the film. * Eric Roberts as Murray Slaughter : The head writer of the news makes frequent quips for Ted Baxter's mangling of his news copy, and Sue Ann Nivens' aggressive, man-hungry attitude. Murray becomes Mary's closest co-worker and close friend. * James Marsden as Ted Baxter :The dim-witted, vain, and miserly anchorman of the Six O'Clock News. He frequently makes mistakes and is oblivious to the actual nature of the topics covered on the show, but considers himself to be the country's best news journalist. He is often criticized by others, especially Murray and Lou for his many shortcomings. * Lizzy Caplan as Rhoda Morgenstern : Mary's best friend and upstairs neighbor. Rhoda is an oversexed lesbian who is constantly hitting on Mary and Sue Ann. Though insecure about her appearance, she is also outgoing and sardonic, often making wisecracks, frequently at her own expense. She dates frequently, often joking about her disastrous dates. * Laura Harring as Phyllis Lindstrom : Mary's snobbish cousin. She is married to the unseen Lars Lindstrom, a dermatologist, and has a promiscuous teenage daughter, Bess. Phyllis is controlling and often arrogant. She is actively involved in groups and clubs and is a political activist and a supporter of Women's Liberation. * Jessica Biel as Sue Ann Nivens : Host of WJM's The Happy Homemaker show. While her demeanor is superficially cheerful, she makes judgmental comments about Mary, exchanges personal insults with Murray, and often regales everyone about her many sexual trysts, especially around Lou, to whom she is strongly attracted. Production The production for Mary Tyler Moore was riddled with problems and issues from the start. The initial script was rejected by producers and the studio repeatedly demanded changes, forcing production to begin with it unfinished. Original director Betty Thomas left the project after the script was re-written to include the more sexual overtones in the final project. None of the surviving cast members from the original show were asked to partake in the filming, save for Mary Tyler Moore who refused due to the content of the screenplay. Moore stated that the film version and the TV version of her character were obscenely opposite; with the film version of Richards weaker than her counterpart and the film's climax; "of her finding happiness by marrying Lou Grant preposterous and the antithesis to everything the show stood for..." Casting Casting for Mary Tyler Moore was equally difficult to complete. Numerous actresses were approached to play the lead role, but none appeared interested. Despite her difficult history and reputation, Lindsey Lohan was hired as her career having taken a downward spiral meant she was willing to perform the required nude scenes. Producers reportedly state that Jessica Biel had agreed to her nude scenes, but later reneged on the agreement after 45% of the film had been completed. Facing the possibility of lengthy and costly reshoots, the producers acquiesced to Biel's demands for a body double. Biel has refuted these claims in the press and eventually skipped the premiere in protest of the producer's treatment of her. Reaction Box office The film was No. 1 at the box office in its opening weekend and grossed 30.7 million on 3,785 screens. It also had an adjusted-dollar rank of No. 24 all-time for November releases. The film eventually collected $98 million worldwide, although it was much less successful financially outside the United States. Critical reception Mary Tyler Moore was panned by most film critics. Roger Ebert gave the film one star, calling it a "lame-brained, outdated, juvenile raunch-fest" and wondered how the producers could get a film about feminism so horribly wrong. He said "From its very core it never lifts up women, it reduces them far worse than the most immature sex comedies have done in the past." Ebert also named it the second worst film of the year and Richard Roeper named it the worst film of 2015. According to review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, only 13% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 166 reviews; the website's consensus called the film "A dumb, sexist and vacuous adaptation of a classic TV show that helped to re-define women and the fight for equality in the 70's." The film received an average rating of 33% on Metacritic based on 36 reviews. Longtime fans of the original Mary Tyler Moore series were generally disappointed by the film. Awards At the 36th Golden Raspberry Awards, the film received eight nominations, but didn't win any. * Worst Picture - lost to Fifty Shades of Grey & Fantastic Four * Worst Director (Jay Chandrasekhar) - lost to Josh Trank for Fantastic Four * Worst Screenplay (John O'Brien) - lost to Kelly Marcel for Fifty Shades of Grey * Worst Actor (Michael Sheen) - lost to Jamie Dornan in Fifty Shades of Grey * Worst Actress (Lindsey Lohan) - lost to Dakota Johnson in Fifty Shades of Grey * Worst Supporting Actress (Lizzy Caplan) - lost to Kaley Cuoco for Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip (voice only) and The Wedding Ringer * Worst Supporting Actress (Jessica Biel) - lost to Kaley Cuoco for Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip (voice only) and The Wedding Ringer * Worst Remake or Sequel - lost to Fantastic Four Controversy Before the release of this film, several of the actors from the the original series, criticized the film for its emphasis on sexual content, suggesting that the original series was more family-oriented and not as sexualized. Betty White called for a boycott of the film two weeks before its release. Series star Mary Tyler Moore (of whom the show was named after) refused to cameo as Mary Richards' grandmother upon reading the script and made several attempts to have the studio change the content of the film. Due to the fact that she and her husband Grant Tinker had sold all shares of the company which owned the rights to the series MTM Enterprises in 1981, they were unable to prevent the film from being produced. Moore threatened legal action, but nothing came of it. The producers have countered that the original series also contained sexual themes, however the film, particularly in its unrated DVD release version, contained nudity and sexual content of the sort that was never even hinted at in the original series. Distribution Home media